Shibou no Mirai
by Neko Ranma
Summary: AU: What if things didn't go as planned? What if something had split up the second D.D. team and despite lingering wounds they have to reunite? {Romance later}


Standard disclaimer Applies. In other words, I don't own Digimon. -____-;; This is one of my first stabs at it so please, don't rate me too harshly. Much thanks! Set in the future; AU. Nothing's set in stone yet so suggestions are treasured like gold! ^___^ Thanks and enjoy the first chapter.  
  
"I thought I made it clear last time we talked that I never wanted to see you again." The hushed sentence seemed to spiral into a yell in the otherwise silent teacher's lounge. The chestnut haired female who'd spoken these words had grown somewhat pale over the years yet the way the short strands framed her face had yet to change. Many eyes were trained upon her and yet the young woman failed to give notice. "I never wanted to see any of you again."  
The one opposite of her cringed. "Yagami-san," he spoke in a low murmur, using a more formal namesake. His own hair was a hue of brown but far deeper of that than the female's. "Onegai, I wouldn't have if-" Iori's eyes tore away from her figure to study the wall that he'd only recently become enthralled in. "I wouldn't have come if this wasn't important." One hand tugged lightly at his tuxedo style shirt while the chestnut female's eyes bore into him. That was another thing that had never seemed to change he mused silently.  
Finally his eyes trailed back and seemed to pull a response from the female, no matter how hesitant. She heaved a sigh before nodding once; Kari's lunch could spare a few moments for an old comrade. "Five minutes, Iori." He would have gaped at the familiarity had the young woman given him time. Instead she'd taken his wrist and dragged him from the teacher's lounge. This left many to laugh at the young man who'd approached her and many more to guess as to what relationship he had with her. Yagami Hikari had left that open for attack and would regret it greatly when rumors began to spread.  
It'd been quite some time since the digi-destined team had been together. Each had gone their own way in hopes of catching a glimpse of their dream. It was no coincidence that they lived a great distance from each other, though. Conflict had severed what had seemed to be untouchable binds. The responsibility that came with protecting the digital world had grown heavy upon the shoulders of those who held such power and it was only a matter of time until the weight became unbearable. Hurt, confusion, and anger lingered but none confronted these emotions. Instead, they'd fled like children.  
Sunlight attacked the two, bringing them out of their similar processes of thought. Kari had managed to pull the other into the school's playground and now whirled around to face him with a glare that could kill. Releasing his wrist, she'd eagerly folded her arms against her chest. "You implied that this was important." The male caught the undertone in her voice but found it impossible to classify. "Understand that I'm busy, Iori. I need to-" There was a soft tap upon the female's shoulder and she whirled around to see who'd been listening to them. All words seemed to have died upon her lips when she came to face with the perpetrator.  
"Hey, Kari." He as well seemed to find no need to use formal greetings and instead addressed her rather loosely. One hand was strung through his messy hair, just above where a pair of goggles rested. The broad grin seemed as if it would never fall from his lips as he took in the sight of a highly shocked Kari and a near-laughing Iori. "Didn't think you could get rid of me forever, did you?" One brow was raised as he watched the female's defense mechanism dissolve into thin air.  
"Daisuke?" The female's expression was now one she didn't let show often. The glare was left in the wake of shock and perhaps glints of relief as well. For some reason, she'd begun to wonder why she'd let her friends slip away so many years ago. "Yume?" As she reached out hesitantly to make sure the second male wasn't an illusion, Iori laughed lightly. He'd had something of the same reaction before.  
"The one and only." Instinctively Daisuke had reached out to take her hand, despite the fact it was clearly reached toward his shoulder. He could have sworn that the look of almost feigned annoyance that settled amongst her features was the same one she'd used so many years ago in her childhood. As soon as she'd pulled her hand from his grip he pretended not to care; one shoulder was shrugged before he spoke. "Been a while, ne?" Iori was cast a glance. "He found me and told me Koushiro needed to tell us something."  
With a nod, Iori opened his mouth to explain further but was cut off by Kari. It had been quite some time since a true grin had touched the young woman's lips but now she'd produced one that could easily rival the goggle clad young man's best. "Koushiro?" Her gaze was redirected towards Iori abruptly. "You're still in contact with Koushiro? I haven't seen him in years. Could you-"  
  
It seemed his turn to cut her off. With a shake of his head, he allowed his gaze to once more trail away. Iori's features were creased with worry and a subtle frown tugged at the edges of h is lips. "Iie, Kari." There was no use in questioning what she'd wanted for it burned clear in her eyes. Her own expression fell as an uncomfortable silence passed through them. "We need to find the others first." A sudden wind had picked up and he silently questioned the audibility of his words. "Then we'll see him. He'll explain everything."  
It was obvious to the other two that he was holding something back. The air about the young man practically begged them not to question him, and thus neither did. Instead, Daisuke took the responsibility of raising spirits into his own hands. "Well, it's not like they died on us." Despite the fact the comment was supposed to be a joke, not even the goggle clad young man laughed. It'd been years since they'd spoken and an endless amount of time since they'd last been together in person. Honestly, none gathered there knew the conditions of the others. Though grudges were held, the three present still wished their remaining comrades good health. "Sorry," Daisuke mumbled uneasily.  
Pretending not to notice the tension lingering in every breath of air he drew, the other male cleared his throat softly. Uncomfortable silence wasn't something he normally welcomed and even more so now was it it important to keep the conversation constant. The problem seemed to be he was at loss for words himself. "I think the fastest way to find the others is split up and look," Iori finally offered. "We can cover more ground that way and then regroup in two days." He shrugged a shoulder, pausing to study the other two for a reaction. To his relief both nodded, still struck silent by possibilities.  
"Good," he murmured, offering them both a weak smile. It was nice to know that in the most drastic of situations he could still count upon his fellow digi-destined. Despite the great lengths of time that had passed since they'd last pulled their talents together, he could still feel the rush of adrenaline that he used to experience return. "Daisuke, I think you should find Ken." No argument met his ears and so he continued. "Kari, you should find Takeru and I'll find Miyako." There was a cringe from the chestnut haired female but she failed to protest as well.  
As if on cue, Daisuke's laughing tone finally cut through the crisp air. "Kari and Takeru? Iori, how could you?" His chocolate hued eyes danced in amusement as he shot an accusing finger in the other young man's direction. "I thought we were friends! Allies!" The one practically being accused of treason wore an amused smirk and even Kari had begun to laugh. "What? Now you think I'm kidding?" Daisuke himself was fighting a losing battle in order to keep a straight face.  
Choosing to break her silence, the chestnut haired female spoke in her renewed comrade's defense. "Maybe he would have chosen you to find Takeru if you hadn't picked so many fights with him in the past. Knowing you, you'd greet him by tacking him to the ground!" It took a lot of self- control not to burst into another round of laughter at his mock gasp. "In fact-" Kari's words were cut off without warning as a boy looking to be no older than five ran towards them, a great amount of others in tow.  
"Recess," the young woman uttered, flinching lightly at the calls of playground war-tag-erupted. It seemed that the five minutes she'd promised Iori had stretched into a lengthy fifteen. With a shake of her head, she turned her gaze from the children to her renewed comrades and offered a weary smile. "I have to go but apparently you know where to find me." Kari turned and fled, calling quickly over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll find him!"  
"Bye," Iori laughed lightly, watching her retreating form before turning to speak to Daisuke. His actions were met with failure for the goggle clad young man was already trudging towards the playground, perhaps to join in. This earned another soft laugh; he never had lost his youthful was, had he? Though he'd found Daisuke's antics irritating in his own childhood, it was now refreshing. He seemed to be full of energy, and that alone was inspiring.  
The one being assessed quickly reached out to grab the nearest child's shoulder, grin never fading from his lips. When the child whirled around, shoulder length braids resting in place, he gave no thought to the fact he was a stranger to those waging playground war. Instead, Daisuke raised one hand in greeting. "Hey," he murmured, receiving a raised brow in return. "I'll tell you what. You tell me about Yagami-sensei and I'll give you three hundred yen." The bills were easily produced and waved through the air in a taunting manner. It wasn't so long ago that his older sister had done the same to him.  
Immediately Iori opened his mouth to protest. Though he as well was curious as to how Kari had changed over the years, he didn't think it smart to interrogate her students. The young man's furrowed brow proved this much without a word. Anything he could have said to stop Daisuke was drowned out y the eager student's voice. "Yagami-sensei? I had her last year. It was the first you she started working here," she informed the goggle clad male while reaching forth in attempt to grasp the bills.  
Before either of the young adults could speak a word, a blond boy nearby decided to add his own information. "I had her last year, too," he commented with a nod. "She's not like the other teachers. She doesn't tell you it's just your imagination if you tell her about seeing a monster. She tells you to describe it!" He paused but a moment to yell an insult in the direction of a group of students instructing him not to talk to strangers before turning his attention back to Daisuke. "Then she tells the class that anyone who can see monsters has a special power and that not everyone can do it."  
"Yagami-sensei?" A raven-haired female turned and stared up at the others, her lack of height proving to be somewhat of a disadvantage. "She's my sensei this year. When she told us about special people being able to see monsters, a lot of people laughed." Her brow furrowed as she remembered the occasion and took a moment to relive it. "When they laughed, she said she was one of them and everyone finally shut up about me seeing monsters." A light flush touched her cheeks.  
By this point many had gathered around, eager to find out what business the goggle clad young man had at their school and why he'd attracted so much attention. One of these students brushed a few strands of hair from his cerulean eyes before deciding to add his own information. "She's sad." This was immediately met with protest after protest, some of the students calling him a liar. The words didn't seem to phase the boy much for he shrugged a shoulder. "Yesterday she didn't go to lunch. I came in early and she was sobbing."  
Many were caught off guard and fell into silence. There was murmurings here and there between students as they studied Daisuke and let the information sink in and the crowd began to thin as their recess drew to a dreaded end. It was at this time that the female in braids folded her arms. "What about my three hundred yen?" The others that had spoken up as well looked on expectantly. There was no doubt they'd protest they unfair conditions if the payment wasn't made to them as well. Deciding he owed the children more than they knew, the goggle clad male deposited three hundred yen in each of their hands and watched them all walk off richer.  
  
"Changed, hasn't she?" Iori's hand rested upon the chocolate-eyed male's shoulder, but to his surprise Daisuke shook his head instead of nodding his agreement. Though the grin had disappeared quite some time ago, a small smile still rested upon his lips. It was tired, but still there. This was what edged on Iori's curiosity. "What're you thinking?"  
"She's still Kari."  
  
No explanation was made. Instead, Daisuke merely shook his head before trudging off. He knew of his assignment despite the fact the purpose was still a mystery and that was good enough for him. If it were up to him, that would be the last time he'd let a digi-destined cry. 


End file.
